General Information

As of January 1, 2011, The Lake County Sheriff Civil Division has three offices to serve the citizens of Lake County. The main office is located in Crown Point, Indiana; the two Satellite offices are located in Gary, Indiana and East Chicago, Indiana. The East Chicago Office was reopened by Sheriff Buncich, January 1, 2011. All three offices are open to serve the public Monday thru Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, except for Holidays.

The primary function of the officers working in Civil Division is to serve summons, subpoenas, evictions, writs of assistance, notices of Sheriff Sales and foreign writs of execution. They also collect delinquent state taxes for the Indiana Department of Revenue and conduct Foreclosure Sales on houses.

For the year of 2010, the officers that were assigned to the Lake County Sheriff Civil Division served 66,573 civil process papers.

SHERIFF SALES

The Sheriff Sales on Foreclosed houses is held on the first Friday of each month at the Lake County Government Center. Registration begins at 8:30 am and ends promptly at 9:30 am. The sale begins at 10:00 am. Anyone interested in bidding on a property can fill out a bid sheet. The Bid Sheet must be turned in the day of the sale, prior to 10:00 am.

FOREIGN WRITS

These are papers sent from another state to be served. There is a fee of $60.00 per defendant/per address. The fee is payable only by Business Checks, Cashiers Checks or Money Orders payable to the Lake County Sheriff are accepted. No personal checks can be accepted.

An original and two copies of the summons and two copies of the complaint must be sent. The address of the person being served must be on the summons and complaint.

Foreign Writs along with a self addressed stamped envelope for the affidavit of service that will be returned should be sent to the Crown Point Civil Office, address listed above.

We will attempt personal service, but we do not guarantee it.We will leave a copy at the address listed if there is no response at the door. A copy will also be mailed to the address listed.

TAX WARRANTS

If you have received a letter from the Lake County Sheriff's Department informing you that you owe delinquent state taxes, please follow the directions on the letter and send the payments to the address listed on the paperwork. Please include your tax warrant number on the Cashier Check or money order. No personal checks accepted. Cash is always welcome if paying in person.

Sheriff Property Sales

Auctions are held on the 1st Friday of each month, at 10:00 am or shortly thereafter (If the sale falls on a holiday, the auction will be held the following Friday). The foreclosure auction will be held in the Auditorium of “B” Building, 2293 North Main Street, Crown Point, IN 46307 Properties are posted on the wall directly across from the Civil Division office.

For the Property listings, please navigate to our home page, where you will find links on the right sidebar for the latest property listings.

IF YOU ARE INTEREST IN A PROPERTY – YOU MUST CHECK FOR:
1. State liens & judgments – this information can be located in the Clerk’s Office, which is just past the Auditorium. It is the individuals’ sole responsibility to use the public access computer in the Clerk’s Office to obtain case specific information.
2. Tax information can be found in the Lake County Treasurer’s Office, located on the main floor of ” A” building.
3. Information on Federal liens can be found in the Recorders Office located on the main floor of “A” building.

BUYER BEWARE
A bidder may or may not be responsible for Liens and/or Judgments on a property. You may drive by the property but you may not go onto the property, (it may still be occupied). We do not know the starting bid amount until the day of the sale. The attorneys that are representing the mortgage companies will open the bid.

BIDDERS

All bidders need to register before the sale. You will need the following information to register:
1. A state issued I.D. or a VALID drivers license to receive a Bidder Number.
2. You must register on the day of the sale between the hours of: 8:30 am – 9:30 am. Registration ends promptly at 9:30 am.
3. If you are the successful bidder, you have two hours after the end of the bidding to complete the transaction. We only accept the following types of payment: A. cash B. cashier checks C. money orders.
These are to be made payable to: Lake County Sheriff Department (NO PERSONAL CHECKS WILL BE ACCEPTED) We request that payment be made with no more than two cashier checks or money orders on a single property. Payment must be for the exact winning bid amount.
4. If you are not back within the two hour time frame, the property will be deeded back to the Mortgage Company, and you may be prosecuted by the Lake County Sheriff Department and /or the mortgage company.
5. After receiving your deed to the property, it is your responsibility to have it recorded in the Recorders Office.

ALL SALES ARE FINAL AND AS IS – BUYER BEWARE
THE SHERIFF DOES NOT WARRANT EITHER EXPRESSIVELY OR IMPLIED, ANY TITLE OR LEGAL DESCRIPTION OF ANY REAL ESTATE SOLD AT THE SALE.